“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.” Yet we spend the now — all we ever have — wishing, escaping, envying, and complaining it away — ad infinitum. A mind controlled by ephemeral external circumstances and validation is a mind of no peace at all — it’s a reactive mind that lets inconveniences and outside pressures dictate your daily mood. Peace of mind isn’t externally created, as both research, and the Bible instructed us. To think happiness — an ephemeral response — is a buy, drink, night, trip, job, degree, or bank account digit away, is to have confidence in the flesh and all the things on earth which turn to dust. “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” Cultivating a proactive, mindful mindset focused on seeking the kingdom of God, bearing no thought for worries, and living with noble purpose among loved ones is the key to peace in an escapist, consumerist world of calamity. To live with purpose and trust in our Lord is the greatest act of rebellion one can achieve.
Wherever you go there you are. There’s not a thing on this earth that can bring us lasting peace but the peace of Jesus Christ himself. There comes a point where escapism and consumerism don’t work and you’re left wondering why you still feel so empty. When you’re left wondering why you let minor setbacks or inconveniences make or break your whole day, thereby letting others or material objects control your whole life. It’s why people say money — above a necessary level — can not buy happiness or peace. Spending your life chasing external-based peace is a path set on eternal dissatisfaction. To be whole alone, is to have confidence in God, not the things on earth.
Peace isn’t a place, person, status symbol, another vocation, a dopamine chase, or something to be coveted. It’s a mentality. It’s confidence in God, not the flesh. It’s not being reliant on external factors/validation but being confident in the Spirit which works within us to produce good fruit.
We fall into the trap of thinking joy is elsewhere — joy is after becoming the ideal checklist of a person. That joy is in another big city (when research shows ” unhappiness increases with higher density cities.” ) In another high status job, when research proves the law of diminishing returns applies in salaries as well — “making over $75,000 a year does not buy you greater happiness,” says neuropsychologist Kimberly Miller, PhD. Peace is internal not external. Success is a score that will settle in death.
The Answer
What can we do then to attain more inner peace? Focus on the truth. Joy is in one another — in charity, the pursuit of a noble purpose, memory-making experiences with loved ones.
True inner peace is when our mood isn’t reliant on temporary circumstances or daily inconveniences. Why would you let your life be dictated by frivolous, fleeting things in life? At the end of your life it’s not the accolades, following, job title, wealth that you will look back on — it’s the people and memories. It’s your relationship with God.
We can do this by detaching ourselves from external validation. By having a healthy dose of ambition on the right noble goals, while knowing achievement isn’t worth — our worth is intrinsic as children of God. Things do not give life meaning. What courses with the breath of life gives life meaning.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33 KJV)
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15 KJV)
Matthew 6:25: “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Matthew 6:25 KJV)
“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” (1 Timothy 6:9 KJV)
“ Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” (John 6:27 KJV)
“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 32-35, KJV)
“They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever: That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.” (Psalm 94:6-10, KJV)
We are called not to worry about anything, but instead trust in God’s strength and love even in our weakness. When we make futile attempts to derive peace or joy from escapism, vices, and the ego, we are ultimately left desolate. This is because living according to this empty worldly philosophy is not the truth. We either listen to our own negative voices subconsciously derived from negative worldly influences that leave us comparing ourselves, hating ourselves, more irritable than ever, or we listen to the truth of God’s promises.
Romans 8:6-9 tells us the mind set on the flesh is hostile towards God. If we believe in the word of God, why do you need sin, escapism, vices to get your needs met? If we’re not living by the word of God, we’re living by worldly ideas of success, hedonism, and money that never fill the void. All of our hope and way of living is to be found in Christ.
“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:6-8 KJV)
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. .No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:19–24)
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Our Lord, Jesus Christ has overcome the world. Knowing this, we should rest in faith, not fear. John 16:33: These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (Hebrews 13:6 KJV)
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-7 KJV)
Those of faith can rest comfortably walking by faith, not by sight or fears we create. No matter how our false fears may try to lie to us about what we can do, who we are, and our worth, God’s word is the final truth. Omnipotent, almighty, loving God loves us for being His children, He will never forsake us, and He has called on us to not be anxious about anything. His strength is made perfect in our weakness so we must not succumb to this world in fear, but trust in God. Faith is the opposite of fear. Moses was fearful, felt wholly inadequate for the seemingly insurmountable mission God had put him up to, but he listened to God anyway and walked outside the camp, trusting His word that He would not forsake him or the Israelites. By faith countless men and women of the bible were delivered as told in Hebrews 11.
God is a good, all-powerful, sovereign, merciful god — the alpha and omega, the creator of this universe. Nothing evil comes from God but rather from the consequences of living in a fallen world. Jesus has sent us as helpers towards this rworld For this reason, many are quick to become spiritually jaded, and forget that greater men such as Joseph, David, Abraham, Job, Jeremiah Paul the apostle, John the baptist, and others suffered too. Joseph was sold into Egyptian slavery by his brothers and despite suffering greatly, he not only chose to forgive, but to endure with great humility and faith until he was able to carry out God’s plan. He ultimately saved his betrayers and called them unto repentance all by trusting in God. God used Joseph’s suffering for a larger mission to enact tremendous good. “You meant evil against me,” Joseph says, “but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20).
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6 KJV)
To live with purpose and not on conventional autopilot, waiting for your ideal life to start, in a world where it’s so easy to stay in a career you dislike (85% of people hate their jobs), is an act of brave bravery. Living in the future robs your every day, stop waiting for your real life to start. Accept the things you can’t change, and change the things you can’t accept.
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